meet me on the equinox
by frays
Summary: "They were fire and ice, and they never agreed, but they were the same in their own entities." for mc / LilacDusts ; percy&annabeth ; for the '13 MitC exchange


**Dedication | **mc / LilacDusts

**Prompts | **"I'll be home for Christmas", "Twelve Days of Christmas", chestnuts roasting on an open fire

**A/N | **For the '13 secret santa exchange at monsters in the closet

**Disclaimer | **I do not own PJO, mc's prompts, or any brands & franchises mentioned.

* * *

Annabeth hated thinking of Percy.

She hated thinking of the boy who had stolen her heart, and hated wishing to touch the boy she only saw once a year another time. She hated dreaming about him, and she hated waking up from the sweet dreams he was made of.

He was annoying even when he wasn't present–her sea-eyed boyfriend had a habit of finding his way into her mind when she wasn't completely preoccupied by working, and he stayed in her mind for much too long.

She was rarely busy during Christmas, and missed the work that would distract her mind from Percy Jackson.

Even as she tried not to miss him, his words trickled through to her mind.

_I'll be home for Christmas_.

.

Annabeth's fatal flaw was hubris, and she always had the highest amount of pride someone could have.

She rarely let that pride falter; yet when the raven-haired boy came finally, that fatal pride had ceased to stop her from running into his arms and nearly pushing him to the ground upon seeing him.

His white-toothed smile nearly blinded her, and he lifted her and spun her once, a difficult task with their similar heights.

"You came," Annabeth said, her lips finding his soon. "You really came."

"I missed you."

She believed him, and was unable to help smiling when his lips moved against hers.

.

"It's almost Christmas."

Percy and Annabeth were in a hotel near the camp, curled beside each other with his lips against her ear, one of the places she was most ticklish.

"Twelve more minutes." Percy whispered again.

Most girls would only laugh at the action of their boyfriend whispering in their ears, but Annabeth wasn't similar to most girls, and retaliated by hitting him hard across the chest for tickling her. A choked breath of laughter came from Percy, and he pulled away, grinning.

"Shall I serenade you?"

"Shall I hit you harder this time?"

"I really can't stay…" Percy grinned as he sang, and Annabeth kicked him lightly.

"That's the women's part, so I'll assume that you're taking the responsibility off myself to insult you by singing as a female."

"On the twelve days of Christmas, my mother gave to me–"

"You have the lyrics wrong, Seaweed Brain."

"Always the critic." Percy sighed dramatically, wrapping an arm about the blonde girl's waist and pulling her near. "If only you could learn to love me for my flaws."

Annabeth was already asleep.

.

Though even he had too much pride to admit it, Percy enjoyed watching the blonde girl sleep.

The first splashes of sunlight were falling through the windows, spilling onto the beautiful girls face and illuminating her features, made softer by the serenity of sleep.

Her pink lips were parted softly, blonde lashes closed and body still save the gentle rising and falling of her chest.

Her slumber was the only time she was at peace–her brilliant mind moved too quickly and shone too brightly, and she was never as thoughtless as she was when she was dreaming.

Grey eyes fluttered open, and Percy smiled, about to wish her a merry Christmas, or wait for her to send him Christmas wishes.

"I hope you didn't drool on me, Seaweed Brain."

.

The morning of Christmas always left the streets bathed in an unbreakable silence and taste of hope no holiday could ever replace.

In the distance, shrieks of joy were heard from small children opening toys and wonders to them. The smiles were nearly visible streets away, and the ecstasy was thick in the December air.

"You haven't opened your gift, wise girl." Percy said quietly, and the grey-eyed girl gave him a look of confusion that was rare to her. "You know the word 'gift', right? It's what–"

"Don't give me a fake definition." Annabeth cut him off before the words could pass his lips, "I told you not to get me anything."

"And I told you I'm not your loyal servant." Percy said blandly, slipping off the bed and picking up a silver-wrapped box. The box was wrapped messily, with wrinkled paper and all too much tape, but it was obvious he had put in an effort.

"How am I supposed to–"

"Rip it," Percy supplied, scrambling for a pair of scissors for the neater girl to open it with, "Or cut it."

A few angry exchanges and quick tears later, Annabeth found herself looking at a smaller box within the box, "What is this?"

"A second box. Look inside." The grey-eyed girl rolled her eyes, pulling out layers of red and green tissue paper to find a seemingly empty shoebox.

"An empty box?"

"A bead." Percy offered her a lopsided smile, pulling out a purely grey painted bead, similar to the delicately painted beads already there from her years at camp. "It's for your eyes."

She looked at him gently, his smile infectious and reflecting on her.

.

The flames burned the same color as the chestnuts roasting on the sparks of flames. The smell burst throughout the room in scents of flavor, filling it with a woody scent that made Annabeth smile and Percy wrinkle his nose.

"How do you like this?" He asked, watching her with amused turquoise eyes.

"It's peaceful."

"It isn't."

"Make peace," Annabeth said simply. Her words sounded annoyed, as though she wasn't able to believe the stupidity behind his words, but her annoyance didn't stop her from sinking into his embrace.

They were fire and ice, and they never agreed, but they were the same in their own entities.

* * *

**mc | **I'm sorry for this–there's been a lot of drama this week on tumblr & a different fandom, and I had to organize a neon nights party, so I didn't have as much time to write this as I wanted. but you're amazingly sweet, and a great mod of MitC, so I hope you liked this enough c:

**anyone else | **come join MitC / monsters in the closet, one of the forums on my profile for exchanges, challenges, and anything else you could want for PJO.

r.e.v.i.e.w.


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